The GB Rowing Team is the high performance arm of British Rowing. Rowing is the nation’s most continuously successful Olympic sport, having won a gold medal in every Olympic Games since 1984, and has won six Paralympic golds since the sport was introduced to the Paralympic Games programme in 2008.

September 10, 2014

A ‘Big Heave Row’ for Essex RNLI

On Thursday (September 11th), an intrepid team will set off on a four-day endurance challenge with a difference. The ‘Big Heave Row‘, organised by Burnham-on-Crouch Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), involves using their 27’ Whaler, Millie, to travel across Essex by land and sea.

Using their specially adapted boat trailer, the crew intends to heave Millie (a whopping combined weight of 1,289kg) by road from Lifeboat Station to Lifeboat Station using man-power alone. When the team aren’t heaving Millie, they’ll be rowing her. The team will consist of crews from all the Essex stations: Harwich, Walton, West Mersea, Burnham-on-Crouch and Southend.

The adventure begins in Harwich on Thursday morning – the crew rowing eight miles to Walton and aiming to arrive by midday. They will then haul the boat nine miles along the seafront to Clacton. Day 2 begins at 9am, with a seven-mile row to East Mersea by midday, followed by a six-mile heave across to West Mersea. Day 3 consists of a four-mile row from West Mersea to Bradwell, and a heave of 11 miles to Burnham-on-Crouch. The fourth and final day will be an 11 mile row from Burnham-on-Crouch at 1am to Rochford by 4am, and a four-mile heave finishing at Southend Lifeboat Station by 2pm.

The crews are raising funds much needed funds for the RNLI, a charity reliant on donations to save lives at sea. We provide, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the UK and Ireland, and a seasonal lifeguard service.With our lifeboats, lifeguards, safety advice and flood rescue, we are committed to saving lives.With 92% of our total income coming from generous donations and legacies, we depend on our dedicated volunteers and supporters to save lives at sea. Your support means our lifeboat crews can reunite the 22 people they rescue each day with their families.